Even as the MTA planned to lay off workers and slash services, the agency's payroll increased last year, data show.

The average total pay for Metropolitan Transportation Authority employees last year increased by 2.4% to $69,000 - inflated in part by work rules allowing some commuter railroad workers to more than double their base salaries with overtime.

The MTA released a statement saying its 2010 budget gap was caused by state budget cuts and falling tax revenues. The authority has taken significant cost-cutting steps, like freezing managerial pay, but "there's much more work to be done."